Deckchair update

A few words today, instead of the daily photo. I've been having a hard time with the daily photo this weekend because my nice, new digital SLR camera is on the fritz... again. You may remember that it died a few days after I got it, while I was in Namibia. Well, it seems to be having the same problem again. I'll phone customer service tomorrow and see what's up with the bloody thing. In the meantime, I thought I would just use the old Nikon point-and-shoot, but of course all of the rechargeable batteries I've got for that one are flat, and no longer seem to hold a charge. I'm very close to giving up on rechargeables for that camera. Anyway, I think I've got a couple in there, but have to get some new batteries to see what I've got, so it will be a couple of days.

Tonight was my first trip to the Deckchair cinema for the year. They were playing Psycho. Great flick. And it had a truly Deckchair cinema moment, right about the time that Norman's mother was killing the PI (I hope I'm not giving too much away by saying that). Anyway, I was watching the movie, minding my own business, when a possum came by and bit me on the toe. (For the North Americans, I'm not talking about an opossum, but one of the Australian possums, which are quite different, and usually a bit cute. Usually). It had been hanging around looking for leftover Indian food (they serve Indian food at this outdoor theater, and booze, or you can can bring in your own food), and apparently decided to go for some fresh meat. A bit surprising, particularly because of the movie we were watching, but no lasting damage. Only in Darwin...

26 April - New Terrirory bus service?

26 April - New Terrirory bus service?
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

I've seen this thing around town the last week or so. Must be dry season again, because there are some strange vehicles showing up. A lot of people come to Darwin for the dry season, and sort of camp out in vehicles like this. Many of these people work in the tourist markets selling crafts or performing various acts. This vehicle seems to hang around the pub in the background.

25 April - fishing

25 April - fishing
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

A father and son fishing trip on Anzac Day afternoon in Nightcliff. Not a bad way to spend the public holiday. Anzac Day celebrates the day that the Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) troops landed at Gallipoli in WWI. There is a dawn service to remember the Anzacs, and a day off - a bit like Memorial Day in the US, only with more focus on the rememberance part and less focus on the barbecue part. I managed to squeeze in a much needed day off from work. I went for a long bike ride, took some photos along the coast, and went to a friend's place for a barbecue. Very invigorating.

25 April - fence

25 April - fence
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The fence along the Nightcliff foreshore.

24 April - Lophognathus temporalis

24 April - Lophognathus temporalis
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

Slow photo day today. I had to really work to get this one, that isn't all that great.

23 April - rainspout

23 April - rainspout
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

It's starting to feel like dry season around here now. The humidity is way down, the wind has shifted from the south, and the fires are starting. We had the first grass fire on campus yesterday and I could still see some glowing bits tonight. But the weather is very pleasant now.

Over the weekend I went for a nice bike ride with my new (to me) road bike. It was about 50km (about 30 miles), but that nice, dry season wind was not really so nice for the first half. Actually, it was pretty brutal - steady at about 20-25 kph directly against me for about 20km. Ugh. The ride back was fun though.

22 April - overexposed

22 April - overexposed
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

This is part of a cool playground set at a local primary school. It looks like something the aliens left behind. This thing has a seat that spirals up and down this pole for about 3 meters or so. As you push the seat around, you go up - very cool.

The photo was actually a mistake - I forgot to change the exposure from a previous photo, so I got this overexposed shot. At first, I was disappointed, but then I thought it turned out kind of interesting. It almost looks like it's been photoshopped, but really it was just completely overexposed. You can see what it is supposed to look like at the flickr website.

22 April - shade cloth 4

22 April - shade cloth 4
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The schools in Darwin have the usual collection of outdoor play areas, but the basketball (and netball) courts all have big shade cloths over them. Australia is pretty good about protecting its school kids from UV during outdoor activities and this is a bit help. They're kind of interesting - sort of a giant tent. Nice and cool though, compared to the soccer and football fields. The kids are also required to wear wide brimmed hats (or baseball caps with trailing shade cloths over the neck and ears), and probably have to wear sunscreen too, though I'm not sure about that one. Anyway, this particular shade cloth had some nice patterns on a sunny, dry season day.

22 April - shade cloth

22 April - shade cloth
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The shadecloth over the basketball court at a local primary school.

21 April - frog models

21 April - frog models
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

Frog models we're using in the wind tunnel (what I was doing over the weekend).

20 April - galah

20 April - galah
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

These pink and grey parrots are real characters. They're quite common around Darwin, and across most of Australia.

19 April - sunset

19 April - sunset
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

Another part of my commute. This spot is tidal (this is high tide), so it's surrounded by mangroves, with heaps of crabs running around. At sunset, this part of the ride is pretty amazing.

18 April - Rapid Creek bridge

18 April - Rapid Creek bridge
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

This was a weird day. I had two appointments for Wednesday 19 April... except that April 19 is a Thursday. Very disorienting.

17 april - computer frog

17 april - computer frog
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

I spent most of the day in front of the computer today. This is what I saw.

I also have a bit of a rant about the news coverage of the shootings at Virginia Tech, but it's late, so I'll rant another day.

14 April - sunset

14 April - sunset
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

This is out at Lee Point, and is about as Darwin as it gets. People walking along the beach at sunset, with Casuarina trees (left), Pandanus trees (right), and speargrass (bottom).

14 April - shell

14 April - shell
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

Shell on the beach (unposed). I'm not sure whether I like this photo, or the next one better. This one is the shell where I found it - the next one is it moved to a flatter spot, with the sun a bit lower in the sky.

Shell at sunset 2

14 April - shell 2
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

Shell on the beach (posed)

Ibis tree at sunset

14 April - Ibis tree at sunset
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

This tree seems to have Ibises instead of leaves.

Rapid Creek sunset

13.5 April - Rapid Creek
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

I came across this view in the mangroves on the way home last night. I like the way the photo turned out.

13 April - window

13 April - wall2
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

13 April - wall

13 April - wall
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

13 april - shadows

13 april - shadows
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

13 April - flume paddle

13 April - flume paddle
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

12 April - Nightcliff boatlaunch

12 April - Nightcliff boatlaunch
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The beginning of a key Darwin pastime - fishing. This is a popular launch spot for fishing, and it happens to be on my commute to the university in the morning.

10 April - Engineering

10 April - Engineering
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The walkway along the Engineering building on the CDU campus.

10 April-standing goanna

10 April-standing goanna
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

One of two goannas (Varanus panoptes) that showed up outside our building this arvo. This one was about 4 feet long (including the tail).

10 April-goanna

10 April-goanna
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

One of two goannas (Varanus panoptes) that showed up outside our building this arvo.

10 April-light

10 April-light
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

A light fixture on campus.

10 April-lapwing

10 April-lapwing
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

One of the many lapwings on campus. I think there were babies in the area because this one and her mate were making more noise than usual, and I saw one pair yesterday with 3 little guys. This species is unbelievably aggressive - the parents will dive anyone who comes within about 50 meters of their babies or eggs, and the males have spurs on their wings. They fly at just about head height and come right at your face. A bit intimidating. They also have a tendency to breed right in the middle of the path. They lay eggs in bare areas (like the middle of a lawn, or sometimes in a carpark), and then attack anything that comes close. Very inconvenient, but a good source of amusement to watch from a distance.

Roof - 9 April 2007

Roof - 9 April 2007
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The roof of Building 42.

Campus - 8 April 2007

campus 8 april 2007
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The view from my office in late afternoon.

Dragonflies 8 April 2007

dragonflies 8_April
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The conventional wisdom in Darwin is that when the dragonflies come out, the wet season is over. Well, they're out in full force this weekend. Unfortunately, it was a bit windy, which makes it hard to get a decent photo.

dragonfly 8 April 2007

dragonfly 8 April 2007
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

In the afternoon, the light glints nicely off the wings of these dragonflies.

dragonfly 8 April 2007

dragonfly 8 April 2007
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

One of the many dragonflies about in Darwin today.

Darwin skyline

Darwin skyline
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

It was a glorious, tropical day today, so I thought I'd take a few photos around town. I had lunch at East Point reserve, which has this view of the city center. The ocean was an incredible blue-green today, and the weather was quite pleasant - dry and clear and not too hot. I though this photo looked like one for the local phone book, tourist bureau or chamber of commerce.

Coral footprints

Coral footprints
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

East point reserve, 7 April 2007

Secret sponge graveyard

Secret sponge graveyard
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

I found this pile of sponges in a hidden nook along the beach at East Point. Impressive diversity.

Parap reflections

Parap reflections
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

A random Parap market goer caught in the mirror at the hat booth.

Easter protest

Easter protest
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

After doing my daily crocodile blood sampling today, I went to the Parap market for some lunch. Turns out that the religious nutjobs were out in force because of the holiday weekend. I'm not entirely sure what these guys were trying to do, but I'm sure the Roman outfits would have been uncomfortable. The funny part was the reaction from the folks at the market, who mostly looked on in bewilderment and disgust.

Meat ants - 6 April 2007

meat ants - 6 April 2007
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

Here is one of the 1,500 species of ants in the Northern Territory. These are quite common. Unfortunately, they are also quite big and have an unpleasant bite. At least they aren't that aggressive, unless you're a dead piece of meat.

In case you were wondering about the daily photos, I came across a group in flickr that is a Day by Day, one photo a day in Australia group. So, I'm trying to take and post a photo for each day. Not sure how long I'll last, but I'll give it a shot (so to speak) for a while.

flower - 6 April

flower - 6 April
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

A flower on campus - these are quite common around town. They seem to be pretty hardy, despite their delicate appearance. I have no idea what they are, though.

More corellas (5 April 2007)

corellas (5 April 2007)
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

A couple of little corellas in a tree being social.

(Sorry about all the corellas, but they were the most interesting thing I saw today while carrying my camera.)

Little corellas

corellas
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

A flock of little corellas having a drink in a puddle on a hot morning. (4 April 2007)

CDU wins!

3 April CDU Wins!
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The new-ish sign at the entrance to the uni. No one actually knows what CDU won because it is impossible to read the 12 point font while driving around the roundabout at 40 km per hour. Most think we've won some bowling tournament, or competitive hair design. Only the VC knows why this sign replaced the old new sign that just said Charles Darwin University, in large, readable letters. At least the light was good this morning.

2 April view

2 April view
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The green space in front of my apartment building.

1 April shadows

1 April shadows
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

Shadows on the B42 balcony in late afternoon.